Blah Blah Cafe, the Jean-Michel Jarre forum

[Jakob BC]

Seems like I am the only who don't rate this album very high. I think Oxygene, Equinoxe, Magnetic Fields, Zoolook, Revolutions and Oxygene 7-13 are better than this album

[Rubberlips]

I like the naked ladies...

Sometimes more then one at a time!

[Rompipompi]

I like the naked ladies...

Sometimes more then one at a time!

Haha, well your nickname says enough! But I totally agree!!!

[Robi]

One of my favourites!!!

[Aneka65]

Album JMJ Chronologie great The best .

[GeeJee]

I especially favour parts 1-5. After that, it gets a little too cheesy for me. Not bad, not at all, but it could have been much better in my opinion. If the Geiss mix of part 8 was on the album for example, with some Rondat guitar (as he does live on the HK album) thrown in, could be really nice. Also I'm not very fond of the Accordeon solo on Part 6. Part 7 is just a filler. Should've been a track of its own.

[Finaero]

Part 1 - 8.5/10 - I really like this, even though some people are "OMG IT'S EQUINOXE 1 RIPOFF LOLZORZ", it is somewhat and cheesy though... but still really awesome.
Part 2 - 10/10 - This is really awesome, somewhat crazy and majestic combination of church organs, cool bass and... uh, dance. Really one of my favorites. The Gdansk version was quite good, but not as awesome as this version for example.
Part 3 - 9/10 - This is quite an eerie song, listening to it certainly makes me wonder why some people put him in the same cast as some random "lolzorz synthesizer themes"-people. Reminds me of Final Fantasy VIII too.
Part 4 - 9/10 - Even though it reminds me a lot of Go West, it's still more awesome in my opinion. Quite cool, but it also sounds really 1993, perhaps even dated in some sense... but I don't care much about that.
Part 5 - 7/10 - Reminds me of some supermarkets and odd quiz-like things and my fathers career as an editor of that time. Not really one of my favorites.
Part 6 - 7.5/10 - The album version sounds somewhat slack... and it is too overplayed. Perhaps Jarre just likes it much, but I don't. However, the version from CPLT is gorgeous and I would rate it 9/10, but that's not the case now.
Part 7 - 7.5/10 - I think it's somewhat underrated (could work well if reworked to something longer ambientish stuff), but it still feels like a filler track.
Part 8 - 8.5/10 - People seem to hate this, but I like it. Not as much as Chronologie 2, but it certainly has whacky feeling, percussions and groovy atmosphere. But like Chronologie 4, it represents the year 1993 (r or early 1990's in general) so it's dated in that sense. The Michel Geiss remix is better though.

Overall - 8.4

I used to dislike this album, thinking that Jarre made totally awesome music up to 1993. Then I started to like it more (around 1995ish, after CPLT) and now it's one of my favorites. And I still can't understand how many people think it's not as good as Equinoxe or Oxygene.

I think I copypasted that from Jarre.net, judging by the posting date... I think at the time the forums were still there but posting on them had been disabled.

I rather agree with my past self, except now I'd say that part 6 on the album does sound better than the live versions sans CPLT (yet it's still overplayed) and while the Geiss mix of Chrono 8 is better, well, the ending of the album version is just great and I guess the Geiss mix would be even better with that ending

[Jakob BC]

Chronologie 1, 2, 4 and 6 are very nice IMO. I prefer the EIC live version of part 3 with the laser harpe. Part 5 is also quite good but also very different and less Jarreish. Im not too fond of part 8. It's something about the melody and the sound itself, besides a part if the track that reminds me of a christmas song.

[ILIAS]

PArt 1,4,5 and 6 are perfect and great for me. Part 2 and 3 a very good also. but the last 2 parts are almost palyed in my home. Pitty Chr.6 is too short on the album. I like all differnt versions of it. But particularly watching Francis playing there

in part 3 I don't like the vocals.... the only one i like is from Acropolis concert.

anyway one of his beset albums. for me in top 5 JMJ albums.

[matt222]

Seems like I am the only who don't rate this album very high. I think Oxygene, Equinoxe, Magnetic Fields, Zoolook, Revolutions and Oxygene 7-13 are better than this album

I agree.

[Jakob BC]

Seems like I am the only who don't rate this album very high. I think Oxygene, Equinoxe, Magnetic Fields, Zoolook, Revolutions and Oxygene 7-13 are better than this album

I agree.

I have to admit that it has changed a bit since then. I like it more now a days

[jeanbatman]

Chronologie was the first CD I ever bought (now I got a couple hundred of them) back in 1993 and it still has sharp sounds and overwhelming melodies.

Chronologie I is awesome, it fills several moods. This ouverture has a very close feeling to some Vangelis' epic of the same period (IMHO). Pitch bender part shares common points with Oxygène I, which is in itself a compliment, and transition to part II using "erosmachine" sample is a step further to genius music. Final minute of it impressed me so much, only Jarre and Geiss can take it away like that.

Parts II and III are both clever moves on a classical attempt to synth, with both high tones and layers of electric/electronic extravaganza. Neat.

I'm OK with Chrono IV except the clock melody which is a bit bothering, to some extend. There's got plenty of supplying sounds effects.
I remember when I first heard part IV on CD, I kept pulling the track to its debut to hear that opening sound. I wasn't the only one. Some months after Chronologie's release, a very popular french sports TV show called "Stade 2" used a sound effect very close to that one, blended with Oxygène 5's synth drumming.

Chronologie VI is a really cool track, you did notice, much alike Equinoxe VII, especially the first half of it. The DJ's had lots of fun mixing this electronic serenade. Still I prefer the original one.

I distaste both rythms of parts V and VIII, asides that, Chrono VIII could be a perfect ending to this musical journey.

Part VII is just an small environemental follow-up to Waiting for Cousteau, I used to skip it but, as of today, I get more and more confortable in Jarre's ambient style and listen to it oftenly.

In fact, I just skip the part V, which is a weak track, with a "cheap" lead sound and painful hip-hop-alike atmosphere.

Bronze medal of Jarre albums and the best-to-date one, too.

-- PS : I'd be interested to know what's that Chronologie V sound (4'14 to 4'51) made from. It sounds like a bit like "walking into mud", similar to the Equinoxe craft.

[Nico_Noyau]

I think this is a highly LFOed and flanged sound of the MP7, nops ?

[moviemaker]

I like it just a little less as time goes by but I do like my personal "Euriware" promo CD edition since I was at this concert (and therefore it holds a special place for me):






P.S. Chronologie Part 1 has always reminded me of Equinoxe Part 1. For Chronologie, this is the best track on the album and of course Chronologie Part 6 is a close second.

[tinmachine]

As I'm not a big fan of Oxygene 7-13, I think Chronologie marks the end of JMJ's true classic period.

However, I used to think of Chronologie as his best, up there with Equinoxe, but like the last comment, it hasn't lasted quite so well, and now I would also rate Waiting For Cousteau and Zoolook higher.

What it has going for it is that it is JMJ's most varied album to date in terms of styles. And there are some great tunes, although given the choice I'd choose Equinoxe 5 rather than Chronologie 4 to be played at a future concert, even though it's been ages since they have been played. (The Egypt concert being the biggest culprit for not having either of these songs played - it would have been the perfect opportunity!).

It is more of a follow up to Equinoxe than O713 was for Oxygene, in my opinion. Where Chronologie suffers somewhat is the obviously edited way some of the tracks are put together, in particular the transitions between Part 4 and 5, and Parts 6-7.

The best thing though about the album was the Europe In Concert tour that followed, the perfect showcase, especially for the first concerts like Wembley where the whole album was played in its entirity.

Best bits - Chronologie 1 first section, Chronologie 2, Chronologie 4-6 and Chronologie 8 in my opinion.

PS - anyone recall the chickens hatching out of the egg cartoon laser animations at EIC during Chrono 8 - like a Warner Bros cartoon type thing? I've not seen them on any footage - did I dream this?